The Pianist
by HopelessRomantic26
Summary: She didn't remember how long she stood there at his door, the only thing she did remember was the sound of the piano, how beautiful it sounded, every key stroke that Coulson made sounded like heaven and she closed her eyes to listen to him play. A CoulSky Pairing


**Authors Note: I made another One Shot of my favorite pair and as always, please read and review and give me your thoughts about it. I used the song "Kiss The Rain by Yiruma" that Coulson played so have a listen to it and tell me whether it matched nicely with the story. It kinda did for me but hey that's what I think so without further ado~**

Coulson staggered through the halls, blood trailing behind him. He put his palm to his stomach to stop the bleed but he knew that it wasn't going to be enough. He needed medical attention otherwise he'd bleed to death. His sight was started to blur and his breath ragged, he felt a twinge of pain as he breathed in and out. He had to make it out of there, he told himself mentally, otherwise she'd be really pissed off and they couldn't have any more of those moments in the van with her that he'd secretly cherished. He also promised her that he'd play for her.**  
**

_The night before_

Skye couldn't sleep, she had tossed and turned in her bunk and to make it worse, Ward was snoring rather loudly and that alone kept her awake. _My god, for some that looks like that, he snores like a bear. _The others were sleeping rather soundly in their bunks, they must be used to it or they might have drugged themselves to sleep. Skye put in earplugs in order to shield herself from the snoring but it didn't help, frustrated that she couldn't sleep; she decided to make herself a hot cup of chocolate and a small smile formed on her lips, she always drank hot chocolate whenever she couldn't sleep, ever since she was a kid. It was the best remedy for any kind of situation.

Skye put on her robe and she made her way to the little bar that they had on The Bus. She hummed to herself as she made the hot chocolate and breathed in the aroma of the hot chocolate when it was done. She couldn't help but sigh and she took a sip of it and it made her giddy inside. She just loved the stuff. As Skye was sitting down at the bar and happily drinking her hot choc, she heard a faint sound of a piano being played. She knew the bus's layout in and out and she knew there was no piano on board. Skye was really curious now, either someone must have forgotten to switched their CD off or someone was really playing a piano.

She decided to do a bit of detective work since she was a field agent in training, she got off her stool and walked over to their sleeping quarters, when she got close the sound of the piano couldn't be heard and the snoring of Ward took its place. Skye was annoyed to say the least, so she decided to get payback but not tonight, she needed to find out who was playing the piano. She peered into everyone's quarter to find out that everyone was sleeping soundly even May. The only person left unaccounted for was Coulson. She didn't remember how his room looked like and when she was in there, she was given a listening to by Coulson but she knew there was no piano. Thinking about it, She still felt sad and depressed about what had happened a while back.

So she made her way to Coulson's office and she could hear the sound of a piano being played. His door which was usually locked was open, so she peered inside and saw him. Coulson was sitting with his back to her, clad in his usual attire, "_Doesn't the man ever change clothes?" Skye wondered to herself, "It's like every time I see him, he is always in that damn suit of his, doesn't he like get hot and flustered in it? I mean he wears it even when we're on missions which were mostly outside, I mean OUTSIDE where it is all hot and humid." _ Skye decided to stop her mental argument that she was having with herself and focus on the man that was playing the piano.

Skye knew that it was an invasion of his privacy, but with his door opened, heck it was like an invitation to hear a piano recital for free. She didn't remember how long she stood there at his door, the only thing she did remember was the sound of the piano, how beautiful it sounded, every key stroke that Coulson made sounded like heaven and she closed her eyes to listen to him play. She knew she liked Coulson but she didn't know what to make of it, was it just a crush or was it something more, she didn't know but somehow listening to the song being played she somehow felt at ease and relaxed, was it because of the song or because of the man playing the song?

She didn't realize that Coulson had stopped playing; she still had her eyes closed. It was only when Coulson tapped her on her forehead with his knuckle did she realise that he had stopped playing. Skye winced in pain and she rubbed her forehead. "You didn't have to do that you know, you could have done something else, something less harmful like a kiss on the cheek…" Skye clamped her mouth shut with her hands, she was used to just blurting out things and she didn't realize what she had said until she did.

Her cheeks reddened and she didn't have anything to hide it from Coulson, who was standing there, hands in pocket, face unreadable as always. All she had was the hot chocolate that she was holding in her hands so she used that to cover her face but it was of no use, it only made her look more dumb and didn't help the situation any less.

"Let's go down to the bar, I'm in the mood for something to drink and it seems like what you're having looks really good" Coulson said as he passed her by. Skye just looked down at her feet, her cheeks still red from embarrassment and followed him down to the bar. Coulson sat down, bar side and looked at her, a faint smile on his face. Skye rolled her eyes, _"Urgh! I hate it when he does that, it's like batman when he stares down his enemies and they spill everything. This is how it must feel like."_

Skye went behind the bar, she decided to throw the contents of her mug away seeing it was now cold and made a new batch, enough for the two of them. She was about to put the hot mugs of chocolate on the counter and saw that Coulson had readied two coasters; she smiled at him and gently put the hot mugs on the coasters.

The situation was really awkward for Skye, she didn't know what was going through Coulson's mind, if they were playing strip black jack, she would be naked by now and Coulson would still have his poker face on. Skye observed Coulson from the back of the bar, she was sipping her hot choc slowly, whilst playing with her hair with her free hand. Coulson had his eyes closed, his hand wrapped around the mug of the hot choc and sipping it slowly.

Skye imagined that it was her that Coulson was wrapping his hands around, and that it was her sweet chocolate covered lips that he tasted. She didn't know why she had those thoughts but the feeling of wanting him was growing deep down in her but she didn't know how and what she was supposed to do. The week before she had almost betrayed his trust, now a couple of weeks later she was having these thoughts of him, "_OMG Skye get a grip on yourself, you are just making the situation more awkward and tense! You can literally cut the tension in the air with a knife!" _She mentally scolded herself. She was brought of her mental debate, when Coulson let out a sigh of satisfaction and put the mug down.

"This is some good hot chocolate, haven't had one in ages" Coulson said and smiled, Skye couldn't help but smile too. "So I guess you heard me playing just now" Skye nodded, she didn't want to interrupt him with nonsense blabber that she knew she would if she did speak "I didn't know anyone was still awake and I don't usually play when you guys are all up and about. It'll raise very weird questions and apparently weird statements" Coulson chuckled as he said it which made Skye's cheek to redden once again.

"You must have heard from the others that I was sent to Tahiti right? To get better" Coulson asked Skye, who nodded in response. "Well being stuck there with nothing to do except physiotherapy and books can drive a man crazy in the long run, so I decided to learn how to play the piano. It took me a while to get it but when I did get the hang of it, it was the only thing that I could do to relax and take my mind off things." Skye was listening intently to every word he said and Coulson didn't mind. "I don't make my own scores but what I liked to do when I was in Tahiti, was listen to songs played by other pianists and played it. The one that you heard was one of my favourites. It somehow relaxes me and after what happened at the Battle of New York, it's the only way now to relax for me" Coulson said as he took another sip of the hot choc and put the mug down, his eyes focused on the mug.

Skye noticed this and she knew that he was replaying whatever that happened to him on that day. She put down her mug, and walked to the edge of the bar and put her hands on Coulson's hand, she gently squeezed his hands and used her thumb and gently made circling motions on his hands. "Hey whatever happened on that day, is all in the past now, what matters now is that you are here, on The Bus, sitting down and drinking a hot cup of choc made by yours truly." Skye said and gave him one of her biggest smiles.

Coulson couldn't help but smile in return, she had this infectious smile. "So, I was wondering about something" Skye asked and Coulson looked at her, his head cocked to the side, "I read and studied The Bus's plan and nowhere on that plan did I see a piano" Coulson laughed at this point and it confused Skye. "What did I ask something wrong?" She now had her hands to her hips and gave him one of her looks.

"Remember when we had that incident and we ended up trashing The Bus?" Coulson asked and Skye nodded her head, how could anyone forget, they were tied up in the hangar. "Well we couldn't get the things we wanted but I did manage to slip it to the maintenance guys to put in a piano in my room" He said and smiled as he sipped on his hot choc. Skye didn't know whether to be amazed or shocked at this statement. Coulson looked over at her, and the look of shock was painted on her face. "Hey you would have done the same thing I would have done, but if I know you, you wouldn't want the piano" Coulson laughed as he put his mug away, turned and walked away from her.

Skye didn't know what possessed her to do what she did, but she knew for certain that either she would get another earful from him or a different reaction. She had hugged Coulson from the back and wrapped her arms tight around his body. Coulson tensed for a moment when he felt her hands wrapped around him but soon relaxed. They stayed like that for awhile until Skye detached herself from him. Coulson turned around to see that Skye was looking down at the floor avoiding his eyes. Coulson knew that what he was about to do, will cost him dearly in the future but he was living for the present and this is what he wanted to do. He had always admired the hacker that they found in the van. He had secretly cherished their time in the van. He saw with each passing day and mission that Skye was turning out to be more than the girl they found in the back of a van, she was turning to be a beautiful woman, a great mind and a smile that was so infectious and beautiful you couldn't help but smile as well.

Coulson slowly walked up to her, Skye had mentally prepared herself for a scolding but she was surprised and shocked when Coulson had put his arms around her and pulled her in to him closer. "Skye…" Coulson said gently "You know what this means, don't you?" He asked her, his hands gently cupping her face so that she was now facing him and both their eyes met, she shaked her head sideways, she didn't know what it meant, well she did but she wanted to hear it from his lips not from hers. "What this means is, I mean us…." and right before Coulson could finish his sentence, they both heard a gasp behind them. They both were caught unaware by this and immediately untangled themselves and stood apart.

They both looked at where the gasp had come from and found Simmons with her jaw literally on the floor. The both of them were lucky that it was Simmons and not May or Ward, otherwise they would have been in deep shit. They still had to think of something and Skye was looking over at Coulson, Panic in her eyes. It was up to Coulson now and he racked his brains trying to come up with a solution. "Simmons whatever you saw just now is not what it seems." Coulson said calmly, though he said it he himself could not believe it. Simmons just looked at them, words escaping her. "There was turbulence and Skye was about to fall so I caught her and held her just to be sure that there wasn't any more turbulence." The story got more and more unbelievable and Coulson at once was lost for words.

Skye was looking over at Coulson and giving him this look of disbelief and Coulson just gave her one of his stares. Simmons just nodded and said "Well…okay…Turbulence…Got it…I'm here just to get a bottled water and I best be of" She walked quickly and took a bottled water from behind the bar and went back to her quarters without giving them so much as another look.

The two of them looked at each other, still couldn't believe what had happened and Skye turned to Coulson and said with a tone of annoyance "Turbulence? I mean for being the top agent in SHIELD, Turbulence was the best that you could come up with?" Coulson just shrugged his shoulders and put his hands in his pockets letting out a sigh of relief. Skye walked over to where Coulson stood and put her arms around his neck "So Mr AC what was it that you wanted to tell me before we were rudely interrupted." She asked seductively. Coulson liked it but he knew that it would be more trouble if they were caught again. "That will have to wait my little cute hacker." Coulson couldn't believe what he was saying, it's just not him. "We wouldn't want to have another mishap and Turbulence may not be enough" Coulson chuckled as he said it. "So when will I get to hear whatever it was that you wanted to say?" Skye asked, her eyes focused on his.

Coulson took a deep breath and looked into her beautiful and mesmerising eyes "Tomorrow night, when the others are asleep. I'll tell you then" he said and he took her by surprise by giving her a kiss on the cheek. He gently detached himself from her, turned his back to her and walked away. Skye was left there stunned and felt her cheek where Coulson had kissed her. "You did mention to me less harmful and a kiss to the cheek would be perfect" Coulson laughed as he ascended to his room. Before he was out of sight , Skye said "Play me a song tomorrow, the one that you were playing just now" She saw his feet stop and all she heard was "I'll play you the song only and only if you make me more hot choc whenever I want and for as long as I want it." With that his feet vanished and she smiled to herself.

_Present Time_

Coulson fell to the ground, the pain now unbearable. The mission was a success and they got the Intel they needed on the group that was using Centipede. It was a normal exchange, Information for Safe Passage. The thing that he didn't account for was the sniper, who had shot the informant dead with a headshot. Coulson just barely got out of the way but got shot in the stomach as he ducked for cover.

What happened after that was a blur to him; he could hear the comm chatter but he couldn't understand what was said.

He turned to lay on his back now, his hand soaked with his own blood. He could hear footsteps running in his direction. He was too weak to move because of the blood loss. His eyes were heavy now and he felt cold. He couldn't hear properly anymore but he felt his head rose from the ground and laid on something soft. He felt hands all over his wound, a woman's touch. He could hear crying and he opened his eyes. Skye was looking at him, her eyes brimming with tears. Coulson had his head lying on Skye's lap whilst her hands applied pressure to his wound.

"Hey…did you get the sniper?" Coulson asked and Skye nodded. "May got the bastard, we didn't know what had happened and it was so fast from the exchange of information to you getting shot. He was perched up on a tree outside the place. He was really camouflaged and used some tech that masked himself of any body heat that's why we didn't pick up when we did the scan, if we did we would have known and and and….. " Skye choked up tears now streaming down her face, Coulson using whatever energy left wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"These things happen, unexpected things, so we have to be prepared and I picked the right team." Coulson said, smiling though it pained him. Skye didn't know what to do or say, only thing she did was cry for the man who was now dying in her arms.

"Where are the rest of the team?" Coulson asked calmly

"Ward's making sure that the perimeter is secure, May is on her way back to the Bus with Fizz and Simmons so that they can prep the med bay for you" Skye said trying to be calm but failing miserably. She could feel Coulson getting colder; she wrapped his body in her arms, trying to warm him.

"Please don't die Phil; Things were starting to look up for the team and for us. We need you to be there for us, to guide and lead us and for me. I need you especially Phil. You gave me that chance when you knew it wasn't the right call. You also gave me that second chance when I screwed up big time, and you still owe me that song!" She cried hard now, her tears flowed from her eyes.

Coulson looked at her, his body weak and weary. He managed a chuckle which was followed by him coughing up blood. He was at the end of the road and Skye could feel it. She held him tight and tighter in her arms. Her tears couldn't stop flowing like the blood that wouldn't stop bleeding out of Coulson's wound.

In that moment, Skye thought she heard something faint, like a piano being played in the distance. She closed her eyes and the events from the night before played before her, Coulson sitting with his back to her, and him playing the piano but she was no longer at his door but behind him with her arms draped across his neck and her head on his back.

"_Phil please, please don't leave me alone now! Phil I need you!"_


End file.
